Sunday, September 19, 2010

Jim Gorant's "The Lost Dogs"

I just finished Jim Gorant's book The Lost Dogs, about the investigation of Michael Vick and the rehabilitation of his dogs. It's a great read and incredibly engrossing, an exploration not only of how the case against Vick was built but of the emotional roller coaster of those involved in the case and of the dogs themselves.

Perhaps most importantly, Gorant lays out for a mass audience the clearest and most coherent explanation I have yet read of Why This Matters, and why it should matter - to everyone. Even people who are not "into" dogs are bound to be touched by this work.

Gorant gets so much so right about the nature of dogs, of pit bulls, of bust dogs. I see in his descriptions echoes of dogs I have worked with and of my own pit bull, Oliver - the arrested development, the hopeful nature, the dorkiness, the resiliency, the incredible capacity for joy and forgiveness. Best of all he illustrates how an outpouring of abject and depraved cruelty from just a few men brought out the best in so many people across the country, people who stepped up and gave everything they could of themselves to help. Ultimately it is a story of the very best in human nature.